The Army’s top athletics coach K. S. Mathew is all set to take a final bow in the prestigious Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2014 here on Sunday. He will assist the Services runners in the event. He is set to retire from the Army on March 31. He joined the signals training centre, Jabalpur as telecommunications operator in August 1980 and has risen to the rank of Subedar-Major ordinary lieutenant and if everything goes well on January 26, he may retire with the rank of a Captain.
The popular coach has worked mostly at army centres in Pune and Jabalpur and he has played his part with distinction in the rise of many athletes in the middle and long distance running, walk races and marathons. Mathew has been coach of the army teams and chief coach of the Services athletic teams. He has accompanied teams to Asian marathon events and the World army and military games. He was the coach of the Indian middle and long distance, walk and marathon runners at the London Olympics team in 2012.
He will be succeeded by Corps of Signals’ K. C. Ramu who will be a competitor and coach at the SCMM `14. What does Mathew plan to do after he retires at the age of 52 from the Army? ``I was promoted as Subedar-Major four years and my time has come to retire. I am not a commissioned officer. Their service rules are different. I hope to start an independent high-altitude training centre at Wayanad district,’’ said Mathew as army runners for the marathon took his blessings by touching his feet at the SCMM media centre at Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh on Friday.
